I'VE been quiet again, and this time, it's the Olympics. Thanks to the official Olympic Channel that has HD quality live streams and replays, I've been hooked the whole time. Been spending many hours, watching and following the games, and in just two more days, it'll all be over and I'll have to get back to routine and reality.
So Malaysia's won two medals :) That's a great achievement for us, let's
not get into detail because that would entail a long, sensitive debate
on local sports management. Datuk Lee Chong Wei brought back a silver in
badminton (men's single) in a stressful match against China last week,
and yesterday I woke up to an unexpected bronze from our 19-year-old
diver, Pandelela Rinong Pamg in the women's 10m event. It's a great
feeling to see your national flag being raised against the Olympic rings
after a competition. Pandelela is Malaysia's first female to win an
Olympic medal and from a sport other than badminton.
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| Chong Wei |
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| Pandelela |
Malaysia had also won a bronze through athlete M. Vasugi at the 1988 Games in Seoul for Taekwondo but the medal doesn't count in the official medal tally as taekwondo was just a demo sport then. Apparently in 1992, we'd won another bronze at the Barcelona Olympic Games while taekwondo was still a demo sport through an athelete from East Malaysia I've been told. It makes me wonder though. Surely there would've been a surge of inspirational tempest in the local scene then on developing the sport further with active programmes to reach out to youths to produce champions. But what happened ? A tempest in a teapot or a flash in the pan ? Taekwondo became a medal sport in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Growing up in the 80s, I remember taekwondo being a cool sport among kids at schools. (
I was just one of those who wouldn't be a part of any sport that involved body contact so I played a bit of badminton and later squash and attempted tennis, but my hand-eye coordination was hopeless ). Given our history and involvement in the sport, shouldn't we be producing some world class talents already ? Perhaps, we have. Perhaps they're just unable to move forward and unleash their capabilities for some reason ? In my heart of hearts, I believe we have athletes of such quality in this discipline.
Oh well. London 2012 swimming events are over with the men's 10km swimming marathon yesterday. It's been a great time in the pool with new records, faces and history made. Now my other favourite, track and field events, have my full attention. Again, some of these new records are going to be staying put for some years to come. It's been a great show overall and I'm looking forward to South Africa's controversial runner Caster Semenya in the women's 800m final tomorrow. I'm really excited for the 21-year-old who
was listed as one of the '50 People That Matter' for unintentionally
instigating "an international and often ill-tempered debate on gender
politics, feminism, and race, becoming an inspiration to gender
campaigners around the world" by the British magazine New Statesman in 2010.
WOW when you say you are hooked you really are hooked hahaha I have yet to watch a single one, guess you make up for me.
ReplyDeleteoh i am, Pat. i'll probably watch the replays when its all over. hahaha. well, not too late. you one more day to catch up!
DeleteI watched the Lee Chong Wei match. It was so sad:( But at least he fought till the end.
ReplyDeletehe did la. to the very last. proud of him :)
DeleteJess Ennis is my new girl crush too! She's adorable (and kick ass)
ReplyDeletecant agree more, Gia. she really is !
Delete:)
Can you believe those muscles? I'm talking men and women. They are amazing. Glad you're enjoying the games.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
yeah. its amazing, isnt it. great motivation :)
Deletehope you are enjoying the games too!
These women athletes have amazing tummies, don't they? I'd like to give one a pinch to just make sure it's as firm as it looks.
ReplyDeletecatch them on slow mo,GB. their tummies and bottoms dont jiggle :)
Deletebut you can always pinch them to see if they're real though. coming from a gorilla, dont think they'd mind it.
Jessica Ennis is beautiful, I'm so proud that she comes from over here, this Olympics tournament has been wonderful and I really haven't wanted it to end, congratulations on your two medals as well, we've over excelled two winning 26 golds which is crazy considering our population! It's always amazing to see your country win gold! :)
ReplyDeleteyeah!! she's beautiful. i know :( i dont want it to end too.
DeleteGB has done really well. congrats there, Matthew :)
Its a pity that the Oscars are getting over.. but this time, there's been a lot of memories of higher, faster and stronger :)
ReplyDeleteglad to have you back, Raj. hope things are fine with you ??
Delete:)
Very well Jaya, thank u.. I'm back to being as lazy as I always was :D
DeleteHope all's well on ur side :)
OMG!! Oscars!!!?? What was I thinkin??? I need to change my weed guy! :D
DeleteOh my... I only watched the badminton men's final to cheer LCW and a bit of taekwondo cos I was looking out for a fellow blogger who was volunteering.
ReplyDeletei had the tv on with LCW and on the laptop, i was following the women's 42km marathon.
Deletethats so cool. maybe i can volunteer in Rio. hehe. maybe i can tick swimmers on and off the bus on a pen-and-clipboard job :)
I haven't been following too closely. Canada isn't doing so great compared to countries like the States and China though. :P
ReplyDeleteoh well, it doesnt matter. for me, it's just amazing to see sportspeople in action - as simple as that. of course, having favourites makes it all the more interesting :)
DeleteWe're very proud of Caster Semenya taking the Silver medal :) And we have a lot of respect for Oscar Pistorius and all our other athletes. We only won about 6 medals, but I guess most South Africans didn't expect that many anyway.
ReplyDeleteand i am proud of Semenya too ! i thought that she could have easily taken the gold - she seemed like she was holding back a little. the commentators didnt seem too kind on her, dont you think ?
Deleteyeah - Oscar is quite a hero :)
You're what they call an Olympaholic. Good for you and congrats on the medals!
ReplyDelete:) i was.
Deleteand thank you my blue friend.
*sigh* I miss it already.....
ReplyDeletei know :( me too.
Deletebut im so going to brazil.
Looks like India and Malaysia has something in common when it comes to Olympic medals :-)
ReplyDeleteBut it was fun watching the whole thing especially the track and field events.
The closing ceremony was a let down I suppose.
I too have written a post on it
http://joezachs.blogspot.in/2012/08/marina-beach-chennai.html
Good one, it gives complete coverage
ReplyDeletehappy in that they are over because now I have my kids back. they were glued to the TV.
ReplyDeleteThey were cool...I managed to get a ticket for the beachvolleyball :)
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